Hi gardeners:
Please excuse me if this is a topic that has been discussed alot already -- I just rejoined the website and have not read the discussion boards in along time. I have been so busy with work for the past two weeks that only today did I notice that my trees have been severely hit by some late frosts (~25F lows) we have had here in southern IL. The frosts were preceeded by a (too) early warm spell, which means everything was a bit ahead of schedule when they hit.
My ginkgo's tiny developing leaves are completely crispy, as are the leaves of my two japanese maples and two dogwoods. My landscape is still fairly new -- these trees have been in the ground for over 3 years and were reasonably large (expensive) when I purchased the specimens.
Any opinions as to odds of recovery for these trees? Anything I can do to help them pull out if it?
Sedonia
freaking out late frosts in southern IL
Hi Sedonia,
I heard that someone at Mo. Botanical Garden said not to do any trimming on them. We're supposed to leave them as is till this crazy weather is over.
My roses were looking the best they had ever looked, now they are dropping leaves. My Hosta, that I covered, are pittiful. I thought that the Iris were okay, but they have a lot of brown spots on them. The daylilies that weren't covered might be recovering slowly, but look sad. My Rose of Sharon doesn't have any leaves any longer.
I'm just ready to punch out on mother nature ----lol, just kidding, lol. I know she's listening.
You could probably call down to Mo. Botanical Garden and get advice. I know they have some kind of hotline number for questions. Good luck with them.
Crystal
Hi Sedonia: I just e-mailed MBG on Wed. & rec'd a reply same day. My question was about composting rose cuttings. Here's the e-mail address:
PlantInformation@mobot.org
Hi crystalnurse. Tried to visit MGB last Sunday after church & couldn't even find parking. Then I learned that it was opening day for the new children's river adventure area. I hope that it's not this crowded every weekend. We'll have to take our umbrellas & visit on the rainy days when I can't garden anyway.
Sedonia: I found this info. posted in perennials. I hope that you find this helpful. I did.
Freeze Recovery Information from Tennessee Master Gardeners
Freeze Recovery for Urban Landscapes
What happens to plants during a late freeze? Young green leaves and flowers can get zapped during late spring cold snap. So what exactly happens? In some plants the cell inside the leaves and stems froze and the cell membrane ruptured killing that part of the plant tissue, not necessarily the whole plant. At night plants take in water vapors, carbon dioxide and oxygen through small opening on the leaves called stomates. Others might have wilted. In these plants water escaped from the leaves and plant cells too quickly due to a rapid drop temperature. Cells in the plant actually deflated causing the tissue to wilt (in horticulture we call this epinasty).
Due to the freeze, flowers and tender buds may be lost on plants that flower on old growth like some hydrangeas and some climbing roses. Plants that bloom on new growth, such as crape myrtle and butterfly bush may still bloom- only later, after they have recovered.
What happens now? Will my plants survive? There are many answers. It will depend on how your plant reacted to the cold night temperatures, its location in your garden, the type of plant, or its genetic fortitude. Plants that appear to be only wilted and perk back up when the sun comes out (like some hosta, daylily, or rhododendron) should be fine. Later in the season they may exhibit puckered or stunted leaves or may have a “sunburn” look.
Few may have brown or black spots on the leaves where plant cell membranes did ruptured, killing that tissue. Other plants like some Japanese maples, crape myrtle and bigleaf hydrangea are much more sensitive to the cold night temperatures.
If you notice leaves that look water-soaked (imagine lettuce frozen in the back of the refrigerator) this tissue is dead and won’t re-hydrate. This Does Not Mean the Plant is Dead! Adopt a wait-and-see attitude, some plants may re-leaf and bounce back just fine. Most likely all these plants will have brown and black tissue which can be removed later in the season (more about that below).
So what to do now? Two words… Wait and Water.
Wait to dig or remove any plant material. In a few months you will know if it will survive the summer. For those plants that have lost all of the new leaves to the freeze it will be difficult to regenerate new leaves if there is not enough starch stored up in the root system for “another spring”- they will need extra water for this recovery. Water will allow wilted leaves to re-hydrate.
For trees, water deeply twice weekly. Monitor your plant and if you see leaves start to droop, check the soil moisture around the roots and add more if it seems dry. Keep stressed plants mulched this summer to retain moisture around the roots.
Do Not Prune- Pruning can stimulate excessive growth, these plants are stressed, give them time to recover. Give some plants, especially trees a year before severe pruning. Dead foliage can be carefully cut away, but this is not necessary for recovery. The trick is to not to cut too much off the plant.
Do Not Fertilize- Fertilizing now with nitrogen may cause the plant to leaf too quickly instead of giving it time to recover. Trees and shrubs should not be fertilized until next winter. If you had already fertilized, make sure plants receive ample water to use the excess fertilizer.
Beth Babbit, Urban Horticulture Specialist,
Plant Sciences Department Univerristy of Tennessee Extension
4/10/07
Freeze Recovery for Urban Landscapes
What is the future of my garden?
The damaged tissue at the tips of stems was the growing point for future growth. Tip dieback may cause you plant to look different. In most trees and shrubs you can selectively prune to redirect growth to rebuild the form of your plant (next year). The leaves manufacture a plant’s food to be stored for the next growing season.
If plants aren’t able to store enough food this year they may not make it next year.
But don’t lose hope! Remember: Your garden is also a small ecosystem. The living rudiments that allow your garden or landscape to be viable are both good and bad: plants/weeds, soil, insects, bacteria, fungus, worms, plants, birds and other critters. Each part of this system depends on the other. This freeze may have reduced these populations or will reduce the food sources for them in the coming months.
Pay attention. You may see some changes in your garden’s seasonal routine, greening may be slower, the color may not be as brilliant as last year and you may not see as much activity from the critters this year.
Don’t fret the future of your garden! Look forward each day to see how Mother Nature uses unexpected changes to open new opportunities in the garden. Water-soaked leaves on hosta Wilting on Annabelle hydrangea Leaf burn on oakleaf hydrangea “Sun burned look” on daylily
Beth Babbit, Urban Horticulture Specialist,
Plant Sciences Department Univerristy of Tennessee Extension
4/10/07
Crystal----- Do not worry about the hosta. they are tuff as tuff can be. They come back. About all that could happen is they might not be as nice as they can be. But considering when we got the freeze and the length of the growing season I think they will still show a lot. I am not going to argue with Beth Babbit but with all our rain play it lightly on the water on your hosta. They do come down with crown rot from to much water if it is not draining off pretty fast.
Hi Oz
Glad to hear that about the Hosta. We are getting plenty of rain, so that helps them out. I'm just so ready to play outside - looks like it is supposed to start a warming trend after today and tonight. Snow? Can ya believe it! I just bought a 3 tier fountain and am ready to see it in action. I've been putting it off till I am sure the weather won't freeze the pump inside.
I guess I will go put on my raincoat and at least look at the yard, lol.
Crystal
I know it is pretty nasty up there. Snow missed us by a very short distance.
The snow missed us too. It's all green grass and rain out there. lol. Probably a good thing. I would hate to have to mention that it snowed on this particular weekend. lol
Crystal---- We got two small garden fountains. I never hook them up till about may. I would love to put a real big fountain in the yard. We have talked it ov er a few times. I was going to put another pump on the dock and raise the water through a pipe up into the yard and tumble back down the hill like a tiny creek. and finally wind up going over the seawall in a waterfall effect. would not run it all the time because i believe it would require another 1hp motor to lift the water and really move a volume large enough to create a dramatic effect.
Ooh, sounds interesting.
HI! Iventured out for just a few minutes today, and I wish I hadn't. My roses had buds aweek ago and they're ALL hanging down now.Greenbrain, what did MBG suggest you do with your clippings? I'm a member of the local rose society, and we suggest sending them out or burning them because even if they aren't diseased they may be harboring spores of black spot or mildew.If you and Crystalnurse like to roam the MBG you might be interested in the annual plant sale at SWICC this weekend.It's Friday through Sunday at the rear of the campus.That's the20th 21st and 22nd,not this weekend.Did you know any Planitz's in Madison? I lived in Madison and my mothers family all lived there and in Granite. My uncle had a tavern called the Green Hall on Washington and 8th street.
This message was edited Apr 14, 2007 10:32 PM
I was raised 4 blocks from MBG. I went back a couple of years ago after not having been in there in about 50 yrs. I was amazed how nice it is. I never really noticed it before when I was a kid. Many times I was not in there very long at all. When I would go then there was no charge you just walked in like it was a locale park. At that time the small lake in the back was a lot larger and was full of fish. I have been chased out, escorted out and suspended from going in there so many many times as a kid I bet I hold some kind of record. Those small ponds in the front used to be loaded with crawfish also. We would stop there for bait. Sometimes that is all the futher we got. When I was there a couple of years ago we drove around back. There is a very old chain link fence back there. I looked for the historical (well at my age it can be called historical) opening in the bottom and sure enough it was still there.
Oz the troublemaker. LOL
masgard, . I actually grew up in W GC ('55-'73) near the levee where our yard was gumbo, but it was great for gardening. My DH grew up in So. StL City where a street is named after his family. I relocated him to the east side 20 yrs ago. Today's our wedding anniversary. He still hates crossing the bridge, but does so frequently to play music in his old neighborhood. We're an odd couple. He doesn't like outdoors or gardening at all, but loves eating the Christmas pole lima beans that I grow just for him. He's suppose to take me to Soulard Market & couldn't believe that I've never been there.
Oz, I loved your story about MBG! I bet you & my DH could share some tales. His mom has been in the Ozark Lake region for sometime now, so we get out that way when we can. Breathtaking scenery! Fishing is my other passion. MBG has changed a lot since I discovered it 20 yrs ago. My kids grew up visiting the garden & now I take my gr-d with me. It's a fav family outing. We're all members. Was our Christmas gift to ourselves. Yeah, we love it that much!
Betty : )
Betty---- I live on the bank of what is called Mill Creek Cove on the Gravois Arm. I used to fish I guess between 250-300 days a year. I am looking forward to this coming week since it is going to be either a make it are break it week for Crappie fishing.
Being a St Clair Co native I wonder if your old enough to remember Frank Buster Workman. My uncle was part of that crew. As a young fella( a real long time ago) Collinsville Ave and Rt 3 were some of my hang outs. Had a lot of fun and some real exciting adventures in St Clair co in my time.
"The Castle"? Old Poag Rd? Oz, did you ever go to the produce stands along Old Poag Rd in the summertime? The small farmers actually had stands right in front of their houses selling home grown tomatoes, watermelons, corn, and green beans. Those were the good ol' days. All those small farmers are now gone.
I remember tales from those a few yrs older than me about Buster Workman. All this time, I thought the name was "Wartman". LOL Teens would drive past "The Castle" at night & dare each other to tresspass. It was exciting, but scary! Now there's a nice nursery in that neighborhood called Sugar Loaf.That's the only reason that I visit that area these days. http://webpages.charter.net/sugarloaf/
I also want to try The Garden Kingdom. I've drove by it a million times & keep meaning to stop. http://www.thegardenkingdom.com/contactus.htm
Looks like I need to add these to the nursery list.
When next traveling to Eldon, my stops will be Mo Wildflower Nursery and Heirloom Acres, both near Jeff City. I'm hoping to visit Cottage Garden in Piasa, IL this spring; very friendly website. Anyone been there? These 3 are on the garden watchdog list.
I love to catch, clean, & fry crappie. My DH loves to eat them. (Got to stay focused on gardening--fishing license expired), but the crappie are calling......... Horseshoe Lake is starting to make a comeback. Have you been there lately? Summer produce stands nearby because of Relleke's on Sand Prairie Lane. Cycling trails all around the lake now & throughout this entire area. (Got to stay focused on gardening--my tires are flat.)
Am I guilty of "highjacking" this thread? I am so sorry! It's a bad case of spring fever.
Betty : )
Betty ---- I forgot to wish you a happy annivarsary. My next one will be way past 20 yrs. more like 43.
I can tell you where there is a monster nursery near New Melle called Wine country Garden. If you coming down 54 towards the lake there is also a nice one that carries a good variety called Green Horizons in Jefferson City. Some of the people know us there. they want pictures of our yard. They do not really know us by name they call us the The Lake People or The Hosta People. I recommended the place in high hill to them to buy bagged poultry manure to sell.
Thanks OZ. My second marriage, so we weren't exactly youngsters.
Thanks also for the nursery tips. Since Schermer's Garden Shop closed up here in Madison, I've been kind of lost.